Acacia Theatre Presents ‘The Gifts of the Magi’

Acacia Theatrecontinues its season with a musical adaptation of two classic stories by O.Henry when it presents The Gifts of theMagi. The famous tale of an impoverished husband and wife looking for theperfect gifts in New York,The Gift of the Magi, comes to thestage along with O. Henry’s The Cop andthe Anthem in a package brought together by Mark St. Germain with music byRandy Courts.

The Cop,not as well known as The Gift, featuresEugene Rubenzer as a cheerful homeless man named Soapy trying to get arrestedso that he can have a warm place to sleep. The role marks Rubenzer’s return tothe Milwaukeestage after a 25-year absence. The actor, who many years ago studied alongsideWillem Dafoe at UW-Milwaukee, returns to his hometown having performed intelevision and movies, as well as at theme parks all over the world.

Over the years, the featured stories have acquiredan overly sentimental feeling, but Acacia has a long history of breathing freshlife into clichéd material. Director Stacy Becker believes the stories “aboutlove, family and the true reason for Christmas” still have resonance and areworth exploring. 

Acacia Theatre’s production of The Gifts of the Magi runs Dec. 5-13 at Concordia University’sTodd Wehr Auditorium.